# Incident 19970331012359I: Piper PA38112, Pensacola, FL, March 31, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 31, 1997, 14:17 local time
- Place: Pensacola, FL
- Airport: Pensacola Regional Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: KRTA
- Location: 30.4734° N, 87.1866° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at PENSACOLA INTL (PNS), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.4734&lon=-87.1866&mi=10
- Aircraft: N25680, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N25680-2002-07-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-38-112 (registry code 7103812, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-38-112) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA38112
- Reported engine: LYC O235L2C
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 15,000 total, 25 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970331012359I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23)FLIGHT CHECK FOR NEWLY OVERHAULED ENGINE WITH PILOT AND MECHANIC ON BOARD. ALL GROUND RUN-UP WAS GOOD.  IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKEOFF THE ENGINE LOST 100 RMP BUT NEVER QUIT.  PILOT ELECTED TO LAND STRAIGHT AHEAD INTO PENSACOLA BAY.  RESULTS ENGINE TEARDOWN WERE NEGATIVE.  CARBURETOR TEARDOWN INSPECTION REVEALED FLOAT 30/1000 TOO HIGH AND TOTAL FLOAT TRAVEL TOO GREAT.  RESULT WOULD BE LEAN CONDITION.  TOTAL TIME SINCE OVERHAUL FOR BOTH ENGINE AND CARBURETOR IS APPROXIMATELY TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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